I am going to keep saying it - thank you for this forum and your responses. I am returning to fishing after 30+ years and you guys have already helped me a ton.

I realize that one way to ensure treble safety is to use single hook strategies whenever possible. I have already bought my tubes and jigs and single hooks for jerk Shadz and senkos. We'll probably buy some Gulp leeches or Slimers (our trip is in August so live may not be available.)

For top water fishing in the evenings up north and for when I get back home to fish the streams near me, for my Rapalas, Torpedos, Puppys, Spooks, wake baits and Pop R. I am going to the Boundary Waters, not Quetico, so I don't have to crimp) but would you guys recommend that I crimp down the barbs on my trebles or should I switch to single inline hooks? I was considering the VMC or Owner brand inline hooks or the new Gamakatsu 550 Assist Short Hook (I will try to paste a link or pictures).

I am most curious what you all think about the Gamakatsu 550. It has a short leader that Gamakatsu's press release suggests can enhance your dog walking lures (I need the help!) because there is less dangling metal. They also suggest that it's flexibility gives the fish less mechanical advantage on the hook.

Finally, I wonder if they will get hung up less often on weeds than even the inline hooks.

For those who crimp down your barbs, would a novice do better with single hooks or the more simple crimping the barbs?

Thank you!

550 hook press release over inline hook

I'd rather crimp than swap to singles if you're that worried. As far as safety....I'd rather get stuck by a crimped treble (more than one hook possibly) than a big single with a barb. If you're also going to crimp the single....then yeah that's "even safer" but I don't feel is necessary in most cases.

On longer stick baits and topwater w/ 3 trebles, I will usually take out the middle hook completely. I never seem to hook anything with it and it's just more to get tangled in a net or hook you.

Agree with cyclones. Also I prefer to grind my barbs down with a dremel tool over crimping. I'm more confident in a nice smooth surface that way.

I crimp and go treble on my plugs. Been hooked in the past more than once with barb. No fun. Our hide is tough and very hard to remove barbs. You will lose very few more fish and great for releasing.

WE had to about 15 years ago paddle out about 6 miles and over a mile of portage to see a doctor to remove a treble hook just above the eyebrow when a northern pike got off and the daredevil bounced back and hooked the individual. Got to Ely than went back to our campsite. Traveled on route 3 times that day and close to 20 miles. Plus over 3 miles portaging.

thegildedgopher: "Agree with cyclones. Also I prefer to grind my barbs down with a dremel tool over crimping. I'm more confident in a nice smooth surface that way."

I do the same.

For those who have been hooked in the past, when did you get hooked? Is it when trying to get the hook out of the fish? When getting the fish in the boat? when trying to grab the fish and hold it steady?

When you are trying to make the process safer, we might want to start by finding the points where there is the most risk. Sure, removing treble hooks and/or barbs might make it safer, but there might be other steps to mitigate the risk as well. Better pliers might allow you to work from a safer distance, a glove to better grip the fish and prevent thrashing could give more control of the situation, and the type of net, or no net at all, might lead to more or less risk. Or maybe there is a tool we could use to cover whole treble hooks to prevent accidents when there is more than 1 hook on the lure.

So getting rid of treble hooks might be the way to go, but I'm a numbers guy and I'd look for some data before committing to a big change like swapping out all the hooks on all my lures.

A1t2o: "For those who have been hooked in the past, when did you get hooked? Is it when trying to get the hook out of the fish? When getting the fish in the boat? when trying to grab the fish and hold it steady?


When you are trying to make the process safer, we might want to start by finding the points where there is the most risk. Sure, removing treble hooks and/or barbs might make it safer, but there might be other steps to mitigate the risk as well. Better pliers might allow you to work from a safer distance, a glove to better grip the fish and prevent thrashing could give more control of the situation, and the type of net, or no net at all, might lead to more or less risk. Or maybe there is a tool we could use to cover whole treble hooks to prevent accidents when there is more than 1 hook on the lure.


So getting rid of treble hooks might be the way to go, but I'm a numbers guy and I'd look for some data before committing to a big change like swapping out all the hooks on all my lures."

Clearly not a scientific answer here, but I suspect thrashing fish is the bulk of the cause of getting hooked. I've never been hooked seriously (probably because I don't catch that many fish compared to the experts around here), but when I have been poked, or come close to getting seriously hooked, it's always been after landing a fish and trying to unhook him, and he's got a case of the floppies. It's tough to control that.

Every time I’ve got hooked it was a case of the fish hooking me when I tried to remove the hook. I was using pliers both times. A slimey flopping northern is a hard fish to hold!
It seems to me that a crimped hook goes in deeper the a barbed hook but they are definitely easier to pull out.
I think with everything but smallmouth a crimped hook didn’t seem to matter, but smallmouth do a lot of head shaking and they were able to throw the hook better.

Most times I've been hooked it was negligence my part!

Thrashing fish whether that's trying lip or grab it from the water....or once it's in the boat/canoe are the most common. On canoe trips I've gone to using the orange plastic fish grips to get control of the fish next to the boat and then continue control while unhooking. So far so good...and my hand is a foot away from its mouth instead of in or near it.

My worst one actually happened after releasing a walleye. the lure was hooked to the edge of the gunwhale on my little tin boat. I went to reach for it and exactly at the same time, stumbled and kicked my rod. The hook popped off the gunwhale and directly into my hand. I was fishing alone, had to operate a tiller for several miles back to my truck, with the hook lodged in my hand. then load the boat onto the trailer, etc. It took urgent care over an hour to get it out. I was totally numb but almost passed out from the sheer pressure applied. They used the string pull method. Barf.

Good thread. Got a treble from a Rapala hooked in my hand on two separate occasions in the BW. The first time (15 years ago) was picking up a ~30 inch Pike on night #1 of a trip on Fourtown. The bad part was that the other treble was still hooked in the Pike. That was a very tense few moments trying to comprehend what to do. Luckily as it went to thrash again the hook popped out of his mouth. Could have been much worse. The second time was last year…dumb moment when I pulled a weed off the lure when i
Had tension on the line. It slingshot into my finger. On both occasions, I spent about an hour slowing cutting a narrow and deep enough slice to dislodge the barb. (After a failed first attempt with the fishing line method). So….I just purchased a fish lip gripper, a new needle nose on a retractable tether, and a protective glove.

Yes twice went to grab like a 5 pound lake trout and ended up playing him with a hook in my hand and fish thrashing and trying to escape in the water. I must of sounded like a wounded Saskawatch.

We use a net or lip grippers to land fish, would never attempt to grab a big fish with my hand if it has multiple hooks hanging from its mouth. Hold the fish with lip gripper remove the hook with long needle nose pliers or forceps, hooks never even close to you. We only crimp hooks when required by regulation (Quetico). Have not been close to being hooked since we went to this method years ago.

I use the dremel to grind down all the barbs. In my case as a measure of self-protection. I frequently fish out of a kayak and I'm always snagging some part of my epidermis. I believe grinding off the barbs reduces injuries to the fish and enhances the ease of release.
Switching out treble hooks for singles changes the weight distribution and action of lures, particularly topwaters and jerk baits. On occasion I've downsized the trebles to get better balance and action. Like the Cyclone, I remove that center treble if the lure has one.
I have switched the treble hooks for singles on most of my trolling spoons and spinners. It seems to enhance the action on the lures.